PsycHacks

Explore the classic fairy tale of Bluebeard, where a new bride unlocks a forbidden door in her husband's mansion revealing secrets that challenge their relationship. The tale highlights the moral complexities of curiosity and secrets, suggesting that some doors should just remain closed.

Overcoming emotional manipulation is an important life skill. From a guilt-tripping mother to a fearmongering politician, there are those in the world who would use our emotions to further their own agendas. Breaking the pattern requires us to (a) accept responsibility for our own emotional reactions, and (b) tolerate our distressing emotions without taking action. I'll walk through how to do this in today's episode.

One of the fundamental skills in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is the block-and-replace technique. This technique -- which entails blocking negative thoughts and replacing them with more reality-based alternatives -- undergirds the entire process of cognitive restructuring, which is an effective way of sustainably changing thoughts and beliefs. In this video, I'll discuss how this is done with some concrete examples.

The disconfirming emotional experience is the very heart of the therapeutic process. It is the necessary and sufficient condition for significant personal change. In essence, a disconfirming emotional experience is when a person has the experience of passing through a feared situation only to emerge unscathed on the other side. With repetition, this contributes to the development of a felt sense that things will kinda be okay, which will force an update of outdated mental models.

Exploring how external factors like alcohol consumption can mask anxiety symptoms, discerning between disorders and confounds, encouraging self-experimentation before therapy for accurate diagnosis and tailored treatment.

Challenging the fear of missing out, this podcast emphasizes the importance of living in the present moment and finding fulfillment where you are. It explores accepting life's plateaus and finding contentment in 'being' instead of constantly seeking more.

Discover why 'should' statements lead to anger and how using them as predictors rather than judgments can lead to emotional growth and acceptance of reality.

With privilege comes responsibility. And one of the responsibilities associated with occupying a privileged position of leadership is to bite one's lip. The captain can't complain (downward). Don't exacerbate the vulnerability associated with being in a dependent position by openly discussing worries, gripes, fears, and anxieties. The buck stops with you.

Confronting a friend about his or her disrespectful or destructive behavior can be one of the hardest things to do in a relationship. Say nothing and you collude to enable the behavior. Come down too hard and you risk alienating the other. In this video, I discuss how to accomplish this difficult task by speaking from your own experience about the natural, emotional consequences of the other's actions.

Many people live with the constant, low-grade fear of disappointing others. While this can ultimately be resolved by overcoming the fear of abandonment, the fear of disappointment can be significantly reduced by examining its rational basis. In this video, we'll discuss justified (versus unjustified) disappointment, so that you can reduce your exposure to unnecessary suffering.